Department for Transport

Immigration Controls

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what measures his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of security at (a) airports and (b) ports of other countries offering connections to the UK.

Mr John Hayes: A) Airports Under international treaties administered by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), all contracting states are responsible for the implementation of aviation security regimes in their own airports, to be applied according to a number of standards and recommended practices set out by ICAO. However, implementation of these aviation security standards around the world does vary and can be less effective when compared to those in the UK. The Department for Transport therefore works closely with a wide range of overseas governments to first assess their implementation and then assist them where necessary, to build their capacity and strengthen their aviation security, governance and procedures. We also work closely with airlines to implement additional security measures, where judged appropriate. B) Ports Under the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code it is the responsibility of the host state to implement effective security measures at their ports in accordance with the ISPS Code and based on that state’s assessment of the maritime security risks. The UK takes maritime security extremely seriously, and the Department has recently established an International Maritime Security Engagement programme to assess security standards at key foreign ports and to provide training in UK best practice to help raise standards.

Aviation: Security

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what processes the Government has in place to check luggage on flights to the UK at (a) departing airports with known security concerns and (b) the destination airport.

Mr John Hayes: Under international treaties administered by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), all contracting states are responsible for the implementation of aviation security regimes in their own airports, to be applied according to a number of standards and recommended practices set out by ICAO. Baggage belonging to air passengers arriving in the UK is screened for security purposes at the airport of departure and would only be re-screened if the passenger was taking an onward flight from a UK airport. The standards of aviation security applied to flights inbound to the UK are a priority for the Department for Transport. The Department deploys a network of skilled professionals to engage with host states supporting the improvement of standards in aviation security. This is to ensure the protection of all inbound UK flights, out of those regions by identifying and mitigating security risks, including vulnerabilities at international airports worldwide.

M6: Road Traffic

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will estimate the amount lost by businesses in Birmingham and the West Midlands conurbation as a result of congestion on the M6 motorway in each of the last five years.

Mr John Hayes: Information on the amount lost by businesses in Birmingham and the West Midlands conurbation as a result of congestion on the M6 motorway is not held centrally.

Engines

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his Department's policy to ban internal combustion engines by 2030 to promote zero emission mobility.

Mr John Hayes: We are spending more than £600 million by 2020 to support the development, manufacture and use of ultra low emission vehicles. This programme includes incentives to encourage motorists to choose cleaner vehicles, and grants for essential recharging infrastructure. This is putting the UK on track to meet our goal of all new cars and vans being zero emission by 2040, making almost all cars and vans zero emission by 2050.

High Speed Two

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of the recommendations made by the HS2 Ltd Residents' Commissioner in her published reports have been adopted in full by HS2 Ltd.

Andrew Jones: HS2 Ltd continues to use all feedback and recommendations made by the Residents’ Commissioner, including those made in published reports, to help improve the quality of its communication and engagement with communities affected by HS2 proposals. In response to recommendations made by the Residents’ Commissioner HS2 Ltd has, for example, expanded its community engagement teams to provide more localised support and information to affected communities, introduced a mobile unit which will have a wider reach where residents not able to attend HS2 Ltd-run events, and raised awareness of the package of HS2 property compensation and discretionary assistance schemes which are available.

National College for High Speed Rail

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost to the public purse has been to date of the National College for High Speed Rail.

Andrew Jones: The Government has committed £52 million of capital cost up until the College opening. To date £12.3 million has been spent.

National College for High Speed Rail

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the National College for High Speed Rail will be operational.

Andrew Jones: The college is due to open to students in September 2017.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which organisations and individuals have been invited to attend the logistics industry round table to discuss driver shortage and future recruitment on 17 November 2016.

Mr John Hayes: The invitation list for the round table is yet to be finalised. People from a number of organisations have been asked to keep the time on 17th November available. The organisations (other than Government) involved are Abbey Logistics Group, the British International Freight Association, British Ports, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, the Freight Transport Association, Freightlink Europe, Labyrinth Solutions, the Rail Delivery Group, Rail Freight Group, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the Road Haulage Association, Unite the Union, the UK Major Ports Group and the UK Warehousing Association.

Cycling: Greater Manchester

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cyclists were (a) injured and (b) killed in road traffic accidents on public roads in (i) Leigh and (ii) Greater Manchester in each of the last five years.

Andrew Jones: The table below gives the number of cyclists injured and killed in reported road traffic accidents, on public roads, in (i) Leigh Parliamentary constituency and (ii) Greater Manchester from 2011 – 2015. Accident Year(i) Leigh(ii) Greater ManchesterSeverity of CasualtySeverity of CasualtyKilledSeriousSlightTotalKilledSeriousSlightTotal   2011051318598667770 20120319221104506611 2013041317191477569 201400883102512617 201506814372338413 Greater Manchester has been defined using the following local authorities (highway authorities): Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

Fire and Rescue Services: Training

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the withdrawal of access to flight and winch training on (a) the ability of local fire and rescue services to support maritime safety and (b) maritime safety.

Mr John Hayes: The Fire and Rescue Services, in common with other emergency services, are routinely offered training and familiarisation with the Coastguard search and rescue (SAR) helicopters.

High Speed Two

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the members of the HS2 Ltd conflicts of interest panel have been since its inception; and what the (a) remuneration paid to them was and (b) expenses incurred by those members has been.

Andrew Jones: HS2 Ltd’s Conflict of Interest Panel Members are HS2 Ltd employees selected to provide a cross section of views and experience, the core members include senior representatives from HS2 Ltd’s HR, Finance, Procurement, Commercial, Legal (General Counsel) and Compliance teams. The release of the names and remuneration of HS2’s Conflict of Interest Managers is governed by the Data Protection Act. The release of such information would contravene the first data protection principle and therefore cannot be disclosed. Any expenses incurred by such staff are incurred in accordance with HS2 Ltd’s expenses policy.

High Speed Two

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) grades and (b) number of compliance staff support the HS2 Ltd conflicts of interest panel; and what that panel's annual budgets and expenditure to date has been.

Andrew Jones: There are currently two compliance staff who are responsible for receiving and processing conflicts of interest matters and escalating matters to the Panel, with a third staff member having recently joined. In addition, there are six senior representatives from HR, Finance, Procurement, Commercial and Legal (being the HS2 Ltd General Counsel) who attend the fortnightly Conflicts of Interest Panel meetings. The Conflicts of Interest Panel does not have a discrete annual budget. The costs of the Panel are the costs of the compliance staff and travel expenses. The release of the grades of HS2 Ltd staff is governed by the Data Protection Act. The release of such information would contravene the first data protection principle and therefore cannot be disclosed.

Blue Badge Scheme: Dementia

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will extend eligibility for the Blue Badge parking scheme to people diagnosed with dementia.

Andrew Jones: People with mental and cognitive conditions can already receive Blue Badges, but we are looking at how the scheme works for those with non-physical conditions in order to ensure it is fair and consistent. However, it would be inappropriate to extend eligibility on the basis of particular conditions as each person will be affected differently and have specific needs.

Pedestrian Crossings

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of whether Government guidance on crossing times at pedestrian crossings remains effective; and what steps he is taking to monitor compliance with that guidance by local authorities.

Andrew Jones: The Department’s guidance on pedestrian crossings, including timings, is given in Local Transport Note 2/95: ‘The Design of Pedestrian Crossings’. The provision of crossings is the responsibility of local traffic authorities who do not have to seek approval or notify the Secretary of State when installing them. The Department does not intervene in local matters such as this or monitor compliance with the guidance, which is non-statutory. The Department is currently revising its guidance on pedestrian crossings in light of the revisions to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions that came into force in April 2016. A publication date for the updated guidance has not been set.

Department for Transport: Staff

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date the current managing director of Passenger Services became a directly employed member of staff in his Department.

Paul Maynard: The current Managing Director of Passenger Services became a directly employed member of staff at the Department for Transport on 1st November 2014.

Railways: Franchises

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the number of (a) closed and (b) pending applications for open access operation on the national rail network that have been referred to his Department since January 2010.

Paul Maynard: Open access track access applications are a matter for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). They are not specifically referred to the Department. The ORR publishes a list of all historic and pending decisions it has made on track access applications on its website:http://orr.gov.uk/what-and-how-we-regulate/track-access/applications-decisions-appeals-and-agreements.

Railways

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the working relationship between his Department's managing director of Passenger Services and (a) Renaissance Trains and (b) First Class Partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: The Department has arrangements in place to manage any actual or perceived conflicts of interest which may arise in relation to its senior members of staff. This process does not include routine assessments of the kind referred to.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Families: Disadvantaged

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what definition is used under the Troubled Families programme for a family being turned around; and on what criteria a family is released from the programme.

Mr Marcus Jones: ‘Turning around’ a family was a phrase used in the first Troubled Families Programme (2012 – 2015) and meant that real change was achieved to improve the lives of families in the programme:children back in school for three consecutive terms; AND significant reduction in youth crime by a third and anti-social behaviour by 60%OR an adult previously on benefits must be back in work for at least three consecutive months.The new Troubled Families Programme (2015 – 2020) reaches out to families with younger children and a broader range of problems – including families affected by domestic abuse or with children in need. The new Programme has different criteria for claiming a results payment. Local authorities can claim results payments for families when they can demonstrate that significant and sustained progress has been made against every problem a family is facing, or that continuous employment has been achieved.

Families: Disadvantaged

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many families in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Tameside and (d) Stockport found continuous employment as a direct result of the Troubled Families programme in each financial year between 2012 and 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones: The table below shows, for the financial years 2012/13 – 2015/16, the number of claims made by local authorities in the Troubled Families Programme for achieving a result of continuous employment with a family.Local authorityContinuous employment results claims by financial year2012/20132013/142014/152015/16Stockport0166066Tameside0104933Greater Manchester7273532164England26371510,9393550

Families: Disadvantaged

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has for continuation of the Troubled Families programme.

Mr Marcus Jones: At the Spending Review 2015, £720 million was allocated to fund the remaining four years of the new Troubled Families Programme (2015 – 2020).We are absolutely committed to continuing to help this group of people, to help these vulnerable families that have some of the most complex needs of people in the country.We are looking at the evidence from the evaluation of the first Troubled Families Programme (2012-2015) to see how things could be done differently, to learn from it and see if there is even more we can do to improve the lives of troubled familiesWe have already learnt lessons from the first Troubled Families Programme and reflected them in the design of the new programme. We have published an overview of the first programme which highlights the improvements that have been made:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-first-troubled-families-programme-2012-to-2015-an-overview

Families: Disadvantaged

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what data his Department has that demonstrate the effect of the Troubled Families programme on rates of domestic violence and abuse in (a) England and (b) the Greater Manchester authority area in each year since 2012.

Mr Marcus Jones: Domestic violence was not included in the target outcomes of the first Troubled Families Programme (2012-15). Given this, we did not have a robust national or local measure to assess prevalence of domestic violence families for the first programme.Domestic abuse has now been included as one of the six key headline problems of the new Troubled Families Programme (2015 - 2020). As part of the evaluation of the new programme, we are collecting data from all local authorities on police recorded incidents of domestic violence. This includes the Greater Manchester authority areas. We are also measuring self-reported domestic abuse through a survey of over 1,000 families using the same measure as the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The evaluation will report, in due course, the changes in these measures once sufficient families have progressed beyond intervention to make a robust assessment.

Families: Disadvantaged

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many families in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Tameside and (d) Stockport have been identified as challenging and are subject to persistent visits under the Troubled Families programme.

Mr Marcus Jones: In Stockport, the local authority achieved outcomes with 565 families in the first Troubled Families Programme; in Tameside with 620 families; in Greater Manchester with 8,090 families. Across England local authorities achieved outcomes overall with 116,654 families. We expected that local authorities would work with more families than they claimed results for in order to achieve their targets.In the new programme, Greater Manchester, including Stockport and Tameside, is delivering the programme as a whole. Greater Manchester has engaged 13,228 families in the new programme so far; across England, 164,481 families have been engaged.The programme promoted but did not mandate a whole family intervention approach. It was not appropriate to do so: all local authorities are different, and the problems faced by each local authority and each family are different. The intensity of the intervention, and the number of visits made by key workers to each family, was dependent on the particular needs of each family and the approach agreed by the family and the key worker.

Families: Disadvantaged

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the effect of the Troubled Families programme on rates of school exclusions in (a) primary and (b) secondary education in (i) England and (ii) the Greater Manchester authority area in each year from 2012 to 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones: The published independent evaluation of the first programme presents data from local monitoring that shows that 10% of families had at least one child permanently excluded on entry to the first Troubled Families Programme (2012-15) and 28% had at least one child with a temporary exclusion. Where data were available for families at exit, 65% of families saw a reduction in permanent exclusion and 70% of families saw a reduction in temporary exclusions.Due to time-lags in national datasets, the first programme’s independent evaluation was not able to track school exclusion outcomes in national datasets within its timeframe.The evaluation of the new Troubled Families Programme (2015-20) will measure changes in school exclusions (both temporary and permanent) using national data held by the Department for Education at both a national and local authority level.

Accommodation Agencies and Estate Agents

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending a ban from operating as a letting agent or sales agent to include a ban on operating as a sales agent or letting agent.

Gavin Barwell: The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduces a package of measures to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords and letting agents. They include the ability to seek a banning order against a landlord or letting or managing agent who has been convicted of a banning order offence. This provision is expected to come into force in 2017.There are separate powers to ban sales agents under the Estate Agents Act 1979. Letting agents and sales agents carry out different functions and operate under different legislation. We do not currently have any plans to introduce legislation that would ban someone from being a sales agent where they have been banned from being a letting agent or vice versa. I would be happy to meet the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood to discuss this issue.

Accommodation Agencies

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring a local authority to keep publicly accessible lists of banned letting agents to prevent such agents from being able to operate in other local authority areas.

Gavin Barwell: The Housing & Planning Act 2016 contains a package of measures to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords who exploit their tenants by renting out unsafe and substandard accommodation. The measures include a database of rogue landlords and property agents who have been convicted of certain offences or received at least two civil penalties for a breach of housing legislation.The database will enable local authorities to keep track of those landlords and property agents and target their enforcement action. Only DCLG and local housing authorities will be able to access the database, although the data will be made available publically in an anonymised format.Access to the database is being restricted in this way for data protection reasons and because making the database publicly available would effectively blacklist all those individuals and companies on the database and prevent them from continuing to be involved in renting out or managing property, which is not the purpose of the database.Where a local authority believes that a landlord or property agent should no longer be involved in the renting out or management of property, they will be able to seek a banning order from the First Tier Tribunal.

Families: Southampton

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many families have been assisted by the Troubled Families programme in Southampton.

Mr Marcus Jones: In Southampton, the local authority achieved significant outcomes with 685 families under the first Troubled Families Programme (2012 – 2015).In the new Troubled Families Programme (2015 – 2020), they have so far engaged 1,065 families. This means that each of these families has a named key worker or lead worker, a full assessment of the problems they face and an agreed plan with stretching goals to tackle all of these problems.

Non-domestic Rates: Solar Power

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the viability of amending the Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery) (England) Regulations 2000 in relation to the 2017 business rates revaluation that is being conducted by the Valuation Office Agency; and how that revaluation will affect rooftop solar.

Mr Marcus Jones: Business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. Well established principles, as set out in the Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery) Regulations 2000, determine when plant and machinery, such as rooftop solar, should be rateable and included in assessments. We have no plans to change these principles. However, we have proposed a £3.4 billion transitional relief scheme to ensure that no ratepayer is unfairly penalised by the 2017 revaluation.

Landlords: Newham

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the Landlord Licensing Scheme introduced by the London Borough of Newham; and if he will make a statement.

Gavin Barwell: The Government’s view is that the current selective licensing arrangements are working. The Government does not support unnecessary large selective licensing schemes. Such an approach is likely to be disproportionate and create additional needless costs for reputable landlords which tend to be passed onto tenants. Local authorities can introduce targeted schemes to deal with specific local problems below the threshold of either 20% of their geographical area or 20% of their local private rented sector. Any scheme larger than the 20% threshold must obtain prior approval from the Secretary of State. Of the three applications received since these measures were put in place in April 2015, two have been accepted and one declined. The London Borough of Newham’s selective licensing scheme runs until 2018; should the authority wish to continue the scheme it will need demonstrate that the proposed redesignation meets the statutory criteria as set out in The Selective Licensing of Houses (Additional Conditions) (England) Order 2015.On 18 October, the Government announced plans to extend mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) to strengthen councils to tackle problems homes head-on and bring an end to ruthless landlords who exploit tenants and charge them extortionate rents to live in poor conditions. These measures will ensure mandatory licensing rules apply to HMOs with five or more people, and to flats above and below shops. Minimum room sizes will also apply to HMOs to help to clamp down on rogue landlords cramming tenants into unsafe and overcrowded homes.

Veterans: Homelessness

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) veterans sleeping rough and (b) homeless veterans in (i) Liverpool, Wavertree constituency, (ii) Liverpool, (iii) the Liverpool City Region and (iv) each region in each year since 2010.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Electricity: Prices

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of proposed increases to electricity network costs on manufacturers.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government published in November 2014, an estimate of the projected electricity networks costs for households and small, medium and large businesses users, in Annex D of the ‘Estimated impacts of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills’. These estimates reflect the eight year price control settlements that run from 2013 to 2021 (electricity transmission) and 2015 to 2023 (electricity distribution), as approved by the regulator, Ofgem.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384404/Prices__Bills_report_2014.pdf

Trident Submarines: Iron and Steel

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department was notified of the decision to use French steel to build the Trident successor submarines.

Mr Nick Hurd: Holding answer received on 21 October 2016



  The management of the steel procurement process for the Successor Programme is the responsibility of the Prime Contractor, BAE Systems. The Ministry of Defence conducted a technical assessment during the tendering process to ensure bids met specifications. Overall, 85% of BAE System's supply chain for the new submarines is based in the UK. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working closely with the Ministry of Defence and the Crown Commercial Service in the implementation of steel-specific guidance on future procurements.

ERASMUS

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to safeguard access to the Erasmus student exchange programme (a) until and (b) after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations.

Electricity Interconnectors: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking fully to utilise the electricity interconnection between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK before the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: We are pleased that the Moyle interconnector is back up to full strength after a period of reduced capacity. This will help with security of supply, and the stability and flexibility of the grid in Northern Ireland. One of the issues for the Moyle interconnector is that imports into Scotland are constrained by wider constraints on the Scottish grid and on the border between Scotland and England. A number of measures are being taken to strengthen the Scottish grid and grid connections to England. These include the Western HVDC link, which is due for completion in mid-2017 and will provide an additional 2.2GW of capacity.

Energy: Imports

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of trends in the exchange rate on future energy imports; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Departmental officials advise that exchange rates are one of the factors which influence future energy imports and their cost. For example, the cost of importing gas is also affected by the availability and cost of a range of gas supplies, infrastructure constraints and global and regional demand. The cost of importing electricity to the UK through its interconnectors with other European countries is also influenced by the electricity generation mix in Europe, by gas, coal and carbon prices and by the level of electricity demand in the UK and other European countries.

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received on the ability of the Pubs Code Adjudicator to enact its role impartially.

Margot James: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received one letter from the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Iain Wright) as Chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and one letter from the hon. Member in his capacity as Chair of the British Pub Confederation. The Department has also received correspondence from members of the Pubs Advisory Service and the British Pub Confederation.

Public Houses

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the compliance of pub-owning businesses with the Pubs Code.

Margot James: The Pubs Code came into force 3 months ago, on 21 July 2016. It is therefore too early to have made an assessment of the compliance of pub-owning businesses with the Code.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2016 to Question 48717, how many customers were interviewed in the small-scale qualitative evaluation of the Warm Home Discount scheme.

Jesse Norman: A total of 41 customers were interviewed as part of the evaluation of the Energy Rebate scheme. These customers were drawn from four representative sample groups of interest. The findings of the research can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220145/energy-rebate-scheme-evaluation.pdf

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2016 to Question 49308, on the Warm Home Discount Scheme, how a person opts out of that scheme.

Jesse Norman: The scheme has formal arrangements in place for individuals wishing to opt-out from the scheme. All Pension Credit Guarantee Credit recipients are first sent a letter with information about the scheme. Only these recipients automatically receive the Warm Home Discount rebate. Those who do not want their data shared with their energy supplier, can write to Department Work for Pensions stating their wish to opt-out from the scheme.

Members: Correspondence

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 20 September 2016 on behalf of a constituent relating to nuisance telephone calls.

Margot James: The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) is responsible for the Government’s policy on nuisance telephone calls. The hon. Member’s letter of 20 September 2016 has been passed to DCMS and that Department will reply directly to the hon Member.

Global Restructuring Group

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the senior management team at the Royal Bank of Scotland on that Bank's global restructuring group and that group's treatment of small businesses during the financial crisis.

Margot James: Since the beginning of this Parliament, no discussions have taken place between the Department and the senior management team at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) about the bank’s Global Restructuring Group. This matter is currently being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

British Overseas Territories: European Convention on Human Rights

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government is responsible for the Overseas Territories legal compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Sir Alan Duncan: The protection and promotion of human rights are primarily the responsibility of territory governments. However, as the State party, the UK Government is ultimately responsible under international law for the Overseas Territories' compliance with their international obligations. These include any international treaty to which the UK has extended its ratification, such as the European Convention on Human Rights.

Qatar: Football

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the diplomatic and trade opportunities presented for the UK by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Qatar has an ambitious infrastructure programme for the 2022 World Cup worth over £140billion, offering significant opportunities for UK companies. UK Government officials are in regular contact with the Qatari World Cup's organising body, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. As part of their discussions they highlight British companies' expertise in fields such as security, hospitality, stadium management in staging global sports events.The UK wants Qatar's 2022 World Cup to be a success and to be Qatar's key delivery partner. As the UK showed during London 2012, international sporting events help to build stronger friendships between people of different countries. This is the first time that the Gulf has hosted this tournament and the UK has lots of experience it can share. This means opportunities for even stronger cooperation and engagement across all aspects of our bilateral relationship.

Tashi Wangchuk

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Chinese counterpart on the case of Tashi Wangchuk who is currently awaiting trial in Yushu, Qinghai Province.

Alok Sharma: We raised the case of the Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk at the UK-China human rights dialogue, scheduled which took place on 27 October.I previously raised our concerns about Tashi Wangchuk with the Chinese Ambassador, in writing, on 1 August 2016.

China: Human Rights

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on China of the recommendations contained in the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission report, published on 28 June 2016.

Alok Sharma: ​I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns, to the noble Lord Alton of Liverpool, on 26 September 2016 (PQ HL1811), copied below for ease of reference: "My officials and I have read the report with interest. Although the Government was not asked to give evidence to it and the views stated within it do not reflect Government policy, there is much in the report with which we agree. We are already pursuing an approach consistent with many of the recommendations. For example my Ministerial colleagues and I regularly raise concerns about the crackdown on human rights lawyers, repressive legislation, and challenges to freedom of religion or belief. Equally, there are parts of the report which require further investigation to substantiate the claims made, for instance about organ harvesting."

Tibet: Religious Freedom

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on religious freedom in Tibet; and whether he has received reports on expulsions of Buddhist students and the demolition of dwellings at the Larung Ghar Buddhist Institute in Sichuan province.

Alok Sharma: ​I refer my Hon. Friend to my answer of 18 October 2016 (PQ 48663). We are aware of, and concerned by, reports of the closure or demolition of churches and monasteries and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs across China. However, I am unable to comment in detail on the demolitions at Larung Gar, as British diplomats are not currently allowed to travel to the area, so my information is partial. Our Consulate General in Chongqing is seeking further information on the situation.

Tibet: Buddhism

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to raise the issue of harassment and persecution of Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet with the Chinese government.

Alok Sharma: ​I refer my Hon. Friend to my answer of 18 October 2016 (PQ 48663).

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Departmental Responsibilities

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will confirm which Minister of his Department has responsibility for (a) Akrotiri and Dhekelia and (b) Gibraltar.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister responsible for Cyprus and Gibraltar is the Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan MP). The Secretary of State for Defence, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon) is responsible for the Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Staff

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to increase the number of officials of his Department who work on issues related to the Commonwealth.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: ​We have already begun building up an enlarged Commonwealth team to deliver an ambitious, UK-hosted Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018, both in policy and event management terms. We will continue to use our network of High Commissioners overseas in the other 51 Member States, bilateral desks in London, together with close cross-Departmental working to further our efforts on issues related to the Commonwealth.

Middle East: Overseas Aid

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian non-governmental organisations and projects receive how much funding from his Department.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The following Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organisations and projects are funded from the bilateral programme budget during the current financial year (2016/17). These are projected spend figures so are subject to change.- Burj Alluqluq Centre Society - This project aims to prevent conflict through the creation of extra-curricular programmes that enable youth to have alternatives to being on the street, reducing the likelihood of violence and countering extremism in the most marginalised areas in Occupied East Jerusalem. Through academic and leadership training, this project will improve employment prospects and build the skills of vulnerable youth. - £49,324- El Hakawati - Promoting stability in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), and preserving the cultural and physical viability of the two-state solution. Supporting the preservation of Palestinian identity and culture in Occupied East Jerusalem. - £10,000- Sharek Youth Forum - Promoting democratic engagement and good governance in West Bank by building capacity of politically-engaged youth leaders from different political and geographical backgrounds to advocate and engage politically with Palestinian Authority. - £48,000- Nawa for Culture and Arts Association - Tackling the risk of extremism and countering those seeking to radicalize youth in Gaza by providing alternative extra-curricular opportunities. Supporting the human rights of vulnerable and at-risk children in an area of Gaza. - £9,400-Palestinian Marine Navigators Association - Reducing the risk of conflict and encouraging greater stability with Israeli naval forces by providing equipment and training to vulnerable fishermen in Gaza Strip contributing to the safety and economic prosperity of Gazan fishermen. - £19,500- Society for the Care of Disabled Families (SOCADIF) -Promoting stability in OPTs, and physical viability of the two-state solution. Building on UK leadership by providing vocational/professional training to disabled women in Rafah, supporting their human rights and economic viability. - £9,000.

Middle East: Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of the financial assistance provided to (a) projects through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and (b) bilateral programme budgets fund projects which promote coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: ​We have not provided any funding for coexistence projects during the current financial year (2016/17).

Eritrea: Human Rights

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, published in June 2016, if he will support an investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court into violations of human rights by the government of Eritrea that may amount to crimes against humanity.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We share the concerns of the Commission of Inquiry regarding human rights in Eritrea. The UN Human Rights Council in June adopted a resolution responding to the findings of the Commission's report. This resolution set out steps needed to improve the human rights situation in Eritrea.We are taking steps to support implementation of this resolution. We have made clear to the Government of Eritrea the tangible improvements we want to see, including amending its national service system, fully implementing its own constitution and releasing those arbitrarily detained.

Middle East: Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which projects in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories receive funding through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The following projects are funded from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) during the current financial year (2016/17).- Small training team as part of the United States Security Coordinator to provide institutional development and professionalisation of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces- Technical assistance to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior (MOI) to improve its capability to provide oversight and management of the security services- Support to EU Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support- Empowerment of young Israeli leaders to strengthen support for peace in their communities- UK-Israel Informal Security Dialogue- Legal Aid and Settlement Monitoring in the West Bank.

Cabinet Office

Apprentices: Government Departments

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many apprenticeships have been created in each Government department in each region in each of the last five years; and how many of those apprentices subsequently secured a job within the Civil Service.

Chris Skidmore: Workforce planning, including apprenticeships, is the responsibility of individual departments.However, in light of the Government’s manifesto commitment to achieve three million new apprenticeship starts in England by the end of the Parliament, the Cabinet Office will be collecting data on apprenticeships to allow the Civil Service to report on our contribution towards the national target. From 2016/17 onwards, apprenticeship data will be collected on a quarterly basis.

Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what underspend the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance has had in each year since its establishment.

Chris Skidmore: The Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance (OCSIA) has been fully funded by the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) since its establishment. There have been no underspends in OCSIA funding.

Death: Manchester

Andy Burnham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the five most common causes of death among (a) women and (b) men in each age group in Greater Manchester were in the latest year for which figures are available.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



EXcel Table for Member - Causes of Death
(Excel SpreadSheet, 12.23 KB)




UKSA Letter to Member - Causes of Death
(PDF Document, 110.34 KB)

Zero-hours Contracts: Greater Manchester

Andy Burnham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in each age group in (a) Leigh constituency and (b) Greater Manchester are employed on a zero-hours contract.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.Zero hours contracts do have a part to play in a modern, flexible labour market – because, for a small proportion of the workforce, that may be the kind of contract that is right for them. On average, people on zero hour contracts work 25 hours a week and nearly 70 per cent of people on zero hours contracts do not want more hours, according to ONS figures. I would note that many Labour councils have used such contracts.Notwithstanding, the Government's review of modern employment practices (chaired by Matthew Taylor) will consider zero hour contracts and make recommendations about how to maintain flexibility while supporting job security, workplace rights, opportunities for progression and representation for the growing number of people who do not have traditional employment relationships.



UKSA Letter to Member - Zero Hour Contracts
(PDF Document, 215.4 KB)

Living Wage: Greater Manchester

Andy Burnham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in each age group in (a) Leigh constituency and (b) Greater Manchester are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.I would add that the Government's National Living Wage was introduced in April 2016 for all working people aged 25 and over, and is set at £7.20 per hour. We have asked the Low Pay Commission to recommend the National Living Wage rate that should apply from April 2017, towards a target 60% of median earnings by 2020. By then, around 2.9 million people are expected to have had a pay rise, thanks directly to the National Living Wage. The Government recognises the important work undertaken by the Living Wage Foundation and we encourage employers to pay above the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage where it is affordable to do so.



UKSA Letter to Member - Living Wage
(PDF Document, 63.41 KB)

Royal Prerogative

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a definitive list of prerogative powers currently exercisable by the Government.

Chris Skidmore: Prerogative powers have changed over time with legislation clarifying the limit and extent as well as in some cases the existence of the prerogative, and as such there is no definitive list. The Cabinet Manual sets out that the bulk of prerogative powers are exercised by Ministers on behalf of the Sovereign which include powers in relation to foreign affairs, to deploy the Armed Forces and to grant mercy.

Life Expectancy

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what life expectancy is for (a) men and (b) women in (i) Ashfield constituency, (ii) Rushcliffe constituency, (iii) the East Midlands and (iv) England.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Life Expectancy
(PDF Document, 78.44 KB)

Immigration: Overseas Students

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of non-EU students who have remained in the UK after completing their studies during the last five years.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. What happens in terms of the migration system that will be established as we leave the EU is a matter that will be very closely scrutinised and looked at in great detail by the government and within the government.



UKSA Letter to Member - Non EU Students
(PDF Document, 65.23 KB)

Attorney General

Sentencing

Karl McCartney: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the unduly lenient sentence scheme.

Robert Buckland: The number of sentences considered by my office has increased by over 108% since 2010 from 342 to 713 requests in 2015. Of those, 136 were referred by my office to the Court of Appeal as potentially unduly lenient, with the Court agreeing to increase the original sentence for 102 offenders.

European Arrest Warrants

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of the European Arrest Warrant.

Robert Buckland: The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) provides a basis for a swift and cost-efficient extradition process between EU Member States implementing the principle of ‘mutual recognition’ of judicial decisions. The UK continues to work closely with Member States to execute EAW following the referendum.

Hate Crime: Prosecutions

Marcus Fysh: To ask the Attorney General, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of prosecutions for hate crime.

Robert Buckland: We are committed to tackling hate crime in any form. The cross Government Hate Crime Action Plan, published in July 2016, focuses on reducing hate crime, increasing reporting and ensuring that all criminal justice partners and key stakeholders deliver the appropriate outcomes for victims.

Hate Crime: Prosecutions

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps the Crown Prosecution Service has taken to set out its approach to prosecuting hate crime.

Robert Buckland: We are committed to tackling hate crime in any form. The cross Government Hate Crime Action Plan, published in July 2016, focuses on reducing hate crime, increasing reporting and ensuring that all criminal justice partners and key stakeholders deliver the appropriate outcomes for victims.

Fraud: Crime Prevention

Chris Elmore: To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps the Serious Fraud Office has taken to prevent serious fraud and other economic crimes.

Robert Buckland: Over the past two years the Serious Fraud Office has secured:the first contested convictions for rate rigging,its first contested conviction of a corporate for offences involving bribery of foreign officials,the first two Deferred Prosecution Agreements in the UK, andthe first conviction of a corporate for an offence under s7 of the Bribery Act.

Department for International Development

Horn of Africa: Migration

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding from the public purse the UK will contribute to the Better Migration Management programme.

Rory Stewart: The €46 million ‘Better Migration Management’ programme is part of the EU’s joint work on addressing unmanaged flows from Africa under the Horn of Africa component of the €1.9 billion EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. The UK has made no direct financial contribution to this programme. However, we have committed to a contribution of €3 million to the Horn of Africa component of the Trust Fund overall. That is in addition to the UK’s underlying contribution to the Trust Fund, which amounts to approximately 15% of the EU’s total €1.8 billion contribution, predominantly drawn from the European Development Fund.

Haiti: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2016 to Question 47281, if her Department will allocate funds to long-term projects in Haiti to address the lack of health infrastructure in that country caused by Hurricane Matthew.

Rory Stewart: In addition to the £5m of support to help thousands of people affected by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, DFID announced a further £3m on 16 October to strengthen the response to cholera and wider health concerns. The UK has provided a total of more than £46m to Haiti since 2010, which has included support to Haiti's health sector. The priority now is to reach those affected by Hurricane Matthew and provide them with water, sanitation, healthcare and shelter. DFID is leading, with other key donors, on lobbying for an improved response to the hurricane, and is working to meet the needs of the most affected. DFID continues to provide support, including to the country's health infrastructure, through multilateral contributions to UN agencies, the World Bank, the EU and other international institutions.

Refugees

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2016 to Question 48875, how many refugees her Department has helped to remain in, or stay as close as possible to, their countries of origin.

Rory Stewart: The UK is supporting hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the Syria crisis in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. We also provide support, assistance and protection for over 5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and the region. In Africa, our programmes support over a million refugees, with a focus on Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. The Secretary of State recently visited Kenya and saw how UK support for refugees is creating trading opportunities and sustainable livelihoods closer to home. The UK has announced a further £20 million to help voluntary, humane and safe returns for Somali refugees in Kenya, and £15 million towards a UN Appeal to support an expected one million displaced people in Afghanistan, including returning refugees.

Middle East: Overseas Aid

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian non-governmental organisations and projects receive how much funding from her Department.

Rory Stewart: DFID’s current bilateral programme covering the Occupied Palestinian Territories does not directly support any Israeli or Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). DFID indirectly funds Palestinian and Israeli NGOs through our support to an access to justice programme benefiting women and implemented by UN agencies, and a private sector development programme implemented through Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI).

Department for Education

Classroom Assistants: Crimes of Violence

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to address the issue of physical violence against teaching assistants in schools.

Nick Gibb: Violence in schools is always unacceptable. It is the responsibility of head teachers to ensure the safety of all their staff, including teaching assistants, and the good behaviour of pupils. We have supported schools by empowering teachers to take action against poor pupil behaviour, clarifying teachers’ powers, extending their searching powers and allowing teachers to impose same-day detentions. The previous Secretary of State appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead two reviews of behaviour. The first review was published in July and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-government-response-to-carter-review.

Apprentices: Females

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) childcare support is offered to young women who work as apprentices in the (i) engineering, (ii) manufacturing, (iii) hospitality, (iv) IT, (v) transport and (vi) science sectors.

Robert Halfon: An apprenticeship is a paid job. As an apprentice, an individual can acquire skills much-valued in the labour market without having to contribute to the costs of their learning. The benefits system treats an apprentice in the same way as any other employee regardless of the sector they are working in. As an employee aged 18 or over, an apprentice may be entitled to the usual in-work benefits, such as Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credits.If an apprentice has children, or is aged 16 or over and does paid work of at least 16 hours a week, they could qualify for tax credits, unless they are already earning £25,000 or more per year. Further information can be found on the tax credit section of the HMRC website.The Apprentice National Minimum Wage applies equally to all apprentices regardless of gender. Most apprentices receive more than the apprentice minimum rate of £3.40 per hour. The latest Apprenticeship Pay Survey (2014) estimates that the median hourly pay for Level 2 and Level 3 female apprentices across Great Britain is £6.36. For males it was £6.19. Differences in pay may be related to the proportion of males and females in higher and lower paid apprenticeship occupations.

Apprentices: Taxation

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Blaydon of 19 August 2016 on the application of the Apprenticeship Levy in Scotland.

Robert Halfon: The hon. Member should have received an email response on 14 October, with a hard copy to follow. Skills policy is devolved, which means that the Scottish Government is responsible for managing apprenticeships in its own territory. This has been the case since the Scotland Act 1998 and UK employers understand that they need to engage with different funding bodies in different parts of the UK. The introduction of the apprenticeship levy in April 2017 will not change this position. On 12 August, we published detailed proposals on how we will fund apprenticeships in England when the levy is introduced in April 2017. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeship-changes. We are committed to publishing the final apprenticeship funding policy information for England before the end of October. It will be for the Scottish Government to set out its own plans for funding apprenticeships in Scotland.

Pupils: Personal Records

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2016 to Question 42842 and with reference to freedom of information requests ref: 2016-0032573 and ref: 2016-0042333, on pupil data sharing with the police and Home Office, on how many people has data been (a) requested and (b) provided in response to requests for information to the National Pupil Database made by the (i) Home Office and (ii) police; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2016 to Question 42842 and with reference to freedom of information requests ref: 2016-0032573 and ref: 2016-0042333, on pupil data sharing with the police and Home Office, how many Home Office requests for information to the National Pupil Database for individual personal confidential data that have been granted were for the purposes of immigration control; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The National Pupil Database (NPD) is information the Department for Education (DfE) holds on pupils attending schools in England, which includes information collected in the School Census and attainment data from awarding organisations. The Home Office and police can request data from the NPD where they have clear evidence that a child may be at risk or if there is evidence of criminal activity. The data that can be requested does not include information on nationality, country of birth or English language proficiency. Between April 2012 and October 2016, the Police have made 31 access requests of the NPD data and the School Census. 21 of these have resulted in information being passed to the police. All were requests for individual level data about individual pupils. Therefore, information about 21 pupils has been shared. “Between July 2015 and September 2016, the Home Office has made requests of DfE data on 25 occasions. Two of these requests were subsequently withdrawn. During this 15 month period, requests relating to a total of 2,462 individuals have been made by the Home Office to DfE and 520 records have been identified within DfE data and returned to the Home Office.” To address any uncertainties, I have placed an information note in the House Libraries.

Apprentices: Construction

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to put in place high-quality three year apprenticeships in (a) bricklaying, (b) plastering and (c) other essential construction trades.

Robert Halfon: The current apprenticeships programme has a clear emphasis on improving quality.There are apprenticeship standards in development for both plastering and bricklaying, and both are intended to be three years in duration. We have a further 25 construction apprenticeship standards in development. We are working with the construction sector to ensure that these apprenticeships are relevant, robust, high-quality and are of sufficient duration for the apprentice to be competent in their chosen occupation.

Schools: Census

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether all children and parents will receive the same request for data as part of the schools census.

Nick Gibb: The School Census is the DfE’s primary source of administrative data about pupils attending schools in England and has been running since 2006. It is collected termly from all state schools in England and contains information for each pupil such as their name, address, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, whether they have special education needs. The data collected is vital in supporting a number of the department’s strategic objectives and is widely used by DfE for the purpose of improving, and promoting, the education and well-being of children in England. The Department publishes a School Census user guide. This guide supports schools in understanding Departmental data requirements and assists schools to meet their statutory duty to complete the school census. The Census collects the same information for most children; for example, name, age, address. However some data is restricted to children of a certain age or attending certain types of school; for example, “learning aims” are only collected for post-16 pupils. The Census guidance is clear that for the new data items of nationality and country of birth to be collected this year, schools do not need to see any documentation when collecting this information, i.e. they do not need to see passports or other forms of identification. The guidance is also clear that parents and families are also able to refuse to provide this information if they wish. However, the Department is aware that a number of schools have not implemented the collection in accordance with the guidance. We will, therefore, work with the sector to consider how it can better support schools in collecting school census data for future rounds. To address any uncertainties, I have placed an information note in the House Libraries. The school census user guide for the 2016 to 2017 academic year is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-census-2016-to-2017-guide-for-schools-and-las.

University Technical Colleges: Apprentices

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of university technical college students who completed apprenticeship courses achieved a Level (a) 3 and (b) 4 apprenticeship qualification in each of the last three years.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of university technical college students go on to achieve a (a) Level 3 and (b) Level 4 apprenticeship qualification.

Robert Halfon: Information on the proportion of university technical college students achieving apprenticeship qualifications over the past three years is not readily available. The Department for Education is phasing in a series of changes to our performance tables from 2018, including the inclusion of apprenticeship outcomes.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Apprentices

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) apprenticeships and (b) vocational training in the haulage industry.

Robert Halfon: The Department has supported the Logistics and Supply Chain Trailblazer group in developing new apprenticeship standards for LGV drivers and Supply Chain Operators, both of which were approved for delivery in May. Both standards have been developed by employers to truly meet the needs of their sector. The new LGV Driver standard allows apprentices to gain their Category C LGV licence alongside the training and assessment for the new standard, rather than it being an entry requirement as it was under the old system. The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has an account management function to support employers to invest in apprenticeships and they are working with some of the biggest hauliers including DHL, Kuehne, Nagel and, more recently, Wincanton. The SFA is also supporting the British International Freight Association to develop a new apprenticeship standard for international freight. Transport and logistics is also one of the 15 technical education routes set out in the Post 16 Skills Plan.

Apprentices

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to measure the effect of the apprenticeships programme on economic productivity.

Robert Halfon: We evaluate the impact of apprenticeships on economic productivity on a regular basis. We do so predominantly by evaluating the wage returns of those who have completed apprenticeships.We know that Level 2 and Level 3 apprenticeships deliver benefits of around £26 and £28 respectively to the economy per £1 of Government investment. This includes both the wage return to the individual and the productivity return to the employer (source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-measuring-the-net-present-value-in-england).As part of our regular Apprenticeship Evaluation Surveys, we also ask employers what they perceive as the main benefits of apprenticeships. Improved productivity is the most frequently cited benefit (76%). Please see the following link for further details: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/522149/bis-16-256-apprentice-evaluation-employer-survey-2015.pdf.Both of these will be updated frequently to understand the ongoing impact of the apprenticeship programme.

Schools: Defibrillators

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number schools in England and Wales which do not have an automated external defibrillator located on school grounds; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: We do not hold information on those schools that do not have an automated external defibrillator on schools grounds, as the purchasing of a defibrillator is a matter for individual head teachers. However, we know how important swift access to a defibrillator can be in cases of cardiac arrest, which is why the Government is encouraging schools and other eligible settings to purchase a defibrillator as part of their first-aid equipment. To make it as easy as possible for schools to do so, the Department has negotiated a deal with NHS Supply Chain to offer defibrillators to schools at a reduced cost. Since the scheme was launched in November 2014, 1659 defibrillators have been purchased through this route.

Defence Sixth Form College

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department contributes annually to the cost of running Wellbeck Defence Sixth form.

Robert Halfon: Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College is a private independent institution; therefore the Department for Education only contributes funding to directly support students enrolled at the institution. In the 2015/16 academic year, the Department for Education contributed £21,434 in 16 to 19 discretionary bursary funding. Discretionary bursaries are awards made to students by institutions to help overcome the individual barriers to participation a student faces, such as help with the cost of transport, meals, books and equipment. The Education Funding Agency’s published allocation is available online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2015-to-2016-academic-year The Department for Education has also contributed funding to the Ministry of Defence’s Armed Forces Bereavement Scholarship Scheme for bereaved service children.

Self-harm: Curriculum

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of curriculum content on self-harm; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to make teaching about self-harm compulsory as part of the national curriculum.

Edward Timpson: We want to provide all young people with a curriculum that prepares them to succeed in modern Britain. The majority of schools and teachers already recognise the importance of good PSHE education and know that healthy, resilient and confident pupils are better-placed to achieve academically and be stretched further. Schools and teachers have the freedom to decide what to cover as part of their PSHE lessons, based on the needs and views of their pupils. Schools are encouraged to teach pupils about mental health and emotional wellbeing as part of a developmental PSHE education curriculum. To support schools in developing their PSHE curriculum, we have funded the PSHE Association to produce guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans to teach about mental health, including self-harm. The guidance is available at: https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/curriculum-and-resources?ResourceTypeID=3. We recognise that we need to look again at how schools deliver high quality PSHE and we are considering all options.

Family Courts

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court pilots to date.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what cost benefit analysis her Department has carried out of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court pilots to date.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what future funding she plans to make available for the Family Drug and Alcohol Court project.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received from members of the judiciary on the effectiveness of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court.

Edward Timpson: The Government's Children's Social Care Innovation Programme has enabled approaches like the Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) to be tried and tested in order to develop and spread new and more effective ways of supporting vulnerable children.We recognise the positive results the FDAC achieves as evidenced in the latest research report published by Lancaster University[1]. This research published in September – and funded by the Department for Education Innovation Unit - found that mothers reunited with their children after care proceedings in the FDAC are more likely to stay off drugs and alcohol for longer and their family life less likely to be disrupted when compared with cases heard in ordinary care proceedings. A linked study, also published in September, indicated that the FDAC model is being successfully implemented in different courts around the country, and the local Judges were unanimous in their support for the FDAC approach. The department has not carried out any cost benefit analysis, but earlier this year, evidence from the Centre for Justice Innovation revealed that FDAC saves the taxpayer £2.30 for every £1 spent.I met with Judge Nick Crighton and members of the FDAC National Unit on 19 October to discuss the latest research reports and progress on implementing the FDAC project.No decision has been taken on future Government funding for the FDAC project.[1] http://fdac.org.uk/better-outcomes-children-parents/

Mathematics: GCE A-level

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on the (a) number and (b) gender of those taking A-level mathematics of the requirement that schools put in place that only those with an A at GCSE can study A-level mathematics; and if she will assess how widespread this practice is.

Nick Gibb: Since 2010 there has been a 17 per cent increase in A level mathematics entries annually. A level mathematics is now the most popular A level choice, and the Government is committed to encouraging more young people to study this valuable subject. Decisions about which students should progress to A level mathematics lie with individual schools. Good teaching is vital to achievement at A level, which is why we are continuing to invest to attract excellent teachers into the profession and to support continuing professional development for existing teachers. We offer incentives of up to £30,000 to attract the best graduates into teaching. We fund high quality professional development opportunities to teachers of A level mathematics delivered by the Further Maths Support Programme and the University of Cambridge. Alongside this, Professor Sir Adrian Smith, Vice Chancellor of the University of London and Deputy Chair of the UK Statistical Authority is reviewing the case for increasing the number of young people studying maths post 16. The review will report later this year.

Teach First

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Teach First graduates were placed at schools in each region of England in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: Teach First have advised that the following numbers of participants started the Leadership Development Programme in schools in England since 2010:RegionYear2010201120122013201420152016West Midlands88118155179175209195East Midlands394657778110588East of EnglandN/AN/AN/AN/A345466North EastN/A424550647769North West607698104105121118Yorkshire and the Humber6093122136158163141South EastN/AN/A4351749878South WestN/AN/AN/A38455657South CoastN/AN/AN/A25375849London303384462546600657533Total5507599821206137315981394Note: “N/A” indicates that Teach First were not operating in a region, so no participants were placed in schools in that region in that year.

Ministry of Justice

Financial Services: Regulation

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the range of civil and criminal powers that are available to financial services regulators to investigate and protect investors who have entrusted funds to regulated firms in the financial services sector.

Sir Oliver Heald: The Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the range of civil and criminal powers available to financial services regulators to protect consumer investment in the regulated financial services sector.

Ministry of Justice: Recruitment

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is her Department's policy not to employ people who have recently resided at an address covered by the British Forces Post Office.

Sir Oliver Heald: It is not the Department’s policy to refuse employment to individuals who have recently resided at an address covered by the British Forces Post Office.

Prisons: Education

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the completion rate was for education courses taken in prisons in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The available information for prison education is published by the Department for Education (DfE) in their Statistical First Release, available on gov.uk.

Prime Minister

Food Banks

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Prime Minister, (a) how many and (b) which food banks she has visited since becoming Prime Minister.

Mrs Theresa May: Details of Ministerial UK official visits and official meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly and made available on the gov.uk website.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a statutory social tariff for broadband services.

Matt Hancock: We are committed to introducing a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) within this Parliament. The USO will give households and businesses the legal right to request a broadband connection with speeds of at least 10 Megabits, no matter where they live or work. Ofcom are preparing advice and recommendations for Government on the design of the broadband USO, and we have asked them specifically to consider a social tariff to make sure it is affordable for all. Ofcom will report on its findings by the end of the year and we will consider them as part of our decision.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Staff

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff (a) of her Department and (b) working in each of its public bodies were employed in NUTS 1 region in the last fiscal year.

Matt Hancock: a) DCMS employed 527 payroll staff (and 57 non-payroll) staff at the 31st Mar 16 (end of the last fiscal year). b) this information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Culture: Greater London

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much (a) her Department and (b) each of its public bodies allocated to (i) the Greater London Authority, (ii) the Mayor of London and (iii) London boroughs to support cultural projects in the last fiscal year.

Matt Hancock: a) The Government has been clear that the right balance of funding between London and the regions continues to require attention, and, as such, there has been a shift in spending on National Portfolio funding away from London over the last five years. £25.28 was spent per head in 2015/16 compared with £29.09 in 2011/12. ACE have also confirmed that the amount of funding for NPOs outside London will increase in the 2018-2022 portfolio. In addition, in May last year, Arts Council England (ACE) announced they will increase the percentage of Lottery funding distributed outside London from 70% to 75% by the end of 2018; and invest over £35 million in the Ambition for Excellence fund - over £31 million of which will be spent outside London. b) This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Museums and Galleries: Closures

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2016 to Question 37452 to the hon. Member for Bristol West, on museums and galleries, which museums wholly reliant on local authority funding have closed in each year since 2009-10.

Matt Hancock: The Government is committed to ensuring that arts and cultural experiences, including those offered by museums and galleries, are available to everyone and not just the privileged few. Government provides support to local museums through Arts Council England (ACE), including a £10m Resilience Fund supporting museums at risk to explore new funding models and become more sustainable. Earlier this month, ACE ​announced the 2018-2022 investment round of £409m per year, which includes a £37m/year increase to focus on improving the amount spent outside London and on integrating museums into the arts portfolio. The modern model of museums funding is that there are very few museums entirely reliant on local authority funding. Where museums are run by local authorities, decisions on service provision are for those local authorities to take.

Broadband: North East Bedfordshire

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what BT's commercial investment was in broadband rollout in North East Bedfordshire.

Matt Hancock: The Department does not hold information on BT's commercial investment in broadband roll-out.

Cybercrime

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many organisations have recertified (a) Cyber Essentials and (b) Cyber Essentials Plus in each year since each scheme's creation.

Matt Hancock: Since the Cyber Essentials scheme began it is estimated that 377 organisations have been certified more than once. This includes organisations that have both Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certificates, as well as those that have been certified more than once with different IT systems in scope.

Cybercrime: Companies

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) FTSE 100 and (b) FTSE 350 companies have used the 10 Steps to Cyber Security guidance to date.

Matt Hancock: The Cyber Governance Health Check (published 2015) found that 58% of FTSE 350 companies had assessed themselves against the Government’s ‘10 Steps to Cyber Security’ guidance, up from 40% in 2013. The 2016 Cyber Security Breaches Survey found that 29% of large businesses [those with 250+ employees] are aware of the ‘10 Steps…’ guidance. The guidance has been viewed over 40,000 times.

Cybercrime

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many organisations held (a) Cyber Essentials and (b) Cyber Essentials Plus certification in each calendar year since 2014.

Matt Hancock: The number of certificates issued by calendar year and by Cyber Essentials and Plus is provided in the table below. YearCyber EssentialsPlus2014, from June19835201510671912016, to end September2188341

Broadband: Rural Areas

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of rural broadband cover in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Matt Hancock: The Government is making a significant contribution to broadband provision across the UK, and the superfast broadband projects that are under way in the devolved nations will deliver superfast coverage to nearly 700,000 premises in Scotland, 650,000 in Wales and 40,000 in Northern Ireland. These form an important part of achieving 95% superfast coverage across the UK by December 2017. The project in Northern Ireland adds to the previous roll-out. These projects will also benefit from clawback funding from suppliers as a result of take-up going above the initial expected levels, which will be available for reinvestment in additional superfast broadband coverage. New procurements are under way in each of the nations using this funding which will further increase superfast coverage. In addition the government is introducing a Universal Service Obligation in the Digital Economy Bill, which will give the right to consumers to request a broadband service; our aim is currently to set this at 10Mbps.

Ofcom

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2016 to Question 49393, what powers she has to set the limits of the markets which Ofcom regulates.

Matt Hancock: As the UK’s independent communications regulator, it is for Ofcom to define the markets that it regulates. Under the EU Electronic Communications Framework Directive, the national regulatory authorities must analyse their national electronic communications markets, in consultation with the industry, and propose appropriate regulatory measures to address any market failures that might be hampering competition. These findings and proposals must be notified to the Commission and other national authorities, ensuring that the rules are applied consistently in all Member States. The Commission has established a list of markets for electronic communications that it considers should be the starting point for this national analysis.

Department for Work and Pensions

Written Question: Government Responses

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 906599, for what reason that Answer does not refer to unemployment levels.

Damian Hinds: The Department has made no assessment of the effect of the National Living Wage on employment levels. However, in 2015 the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that the National Living Wage would have a +0.2 percentage point impact on the unemployment rate by April 2020 – equivalent to around 60,000 people.The Government is committed to reducing long-term unemployment and youth unemployment, and the overall unemployment rate is currently at the historically low level of 4.9%. The Government will also continue to consider advice on increases of the National Living Wage from the Low Pay Commission, whose remit it is to make sure that wages rise to reward workers while considering the impact on the economy.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will meet representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.

Richard Harrington: I am responding on behalf of the Secretary of State (SoS), as Minister for Pensions with overall responsibility on this issue.The previous Minister Baroness Altmann and Minister Shailesh Vara (the previous Under-Secretary of State for DWP) met with representatives of the WASPI group on 29th June 2016 to listen to their concerns. Although WASPI’s ask was unclear, at the time, Ministers indicated that the DWP did not have the available funds to deliver further concessions.One other outcome from that meeting was that WASPI agreed to explore options with the relevant All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). A meeting between APPG representatives, the SoS and myself is being taken forward, and consequently there is nothing further to be gained from meeting WASPI representatives directly.I should add that I have been quite clear that the Government will make no further changes to the pension age or pay financial redress in lieu of a pension.

Social Security Benefits

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to attend interviews with claimants conducted by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The Secretary of State has attended several Jobcentreplus sites, where he has had the opportunity to observe and discuss a range of operational issues. He has not sat in on interviews with work coaches whilst they have conducted interviews with claimants, as standard practice is to seek agreement first with claimants for any third party to be in attendance. Future visits to Jobcentreplus are planned for the Secretary of State.

Food Banks

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) which food banks he has visited since taking office.

Damian Hinds: Details of Ministerial UK official visits and official meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly and made available on the gov.uk website.

Social Security Benefits: Self-employed

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who are certified as self-employed in Ashfield constituency are in receipt of in-work benefits.

Damian Hinds: The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold sufficient data on self-employed recipients of in-work benefits to answer this question.

Ministry of Defence

Iraq Historic Allegations Team

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Iraq Historic Allegations Team on its contract with the recruitment agency Red Snapper.

Mike Penning: The Secretary of State for Defence has had no discussions with the Iraq Historic Allegations Team specific to its contract with Red Snapper. The contract was awarded following a competition, in line with the Ministry of Defence's usual procedures for such contracts.

Iraq Historic Allegations Team

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the (a) names and (b) salaries of the 10 most senior officials in the Iraq Historical Allegations Team.

Mike Penning: In accordance with normal practice we only provide the names of officials at Senior Civil Service level and their military equivalents. The Iraq Historic Allegations Team’s most senior officials comprise a mix of civilian and military personnel as follows: Director, Mr Mark Warwick - Senior Civil Service Band 1, £63,000 - £117,000Royal Navy OF5 (Captain), £84,000 - £93,000Royal Navy Police OF4 (Commander), £70,000 - £81,000Royal Navy Police OF3 (Lieutenant Commander), £49,000 - £59,000Civil Service Band B1, £59,000 - £70,0002 x Civil Service Band C1, £37,000 – £42,0004 x Civil Service Band C2, 30,000 - £35,000

Iraq Historic Allegations Team

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Iraq Historical Allegations Team have spent on the contract with Red Snapper Recruitment to date.

Mike Penning: As of 24 October 2016, the total amount paid to the Red Snapper Group for the contract with the Iraq Historic Allegations Team was £20.8 million including VAT.

Iraq: Military Intervention

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) missions flown and (b) air strikes the armed forces have conducted within Iraqi territory in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Penning: From 1 October 2015 to 25 October 2016 the UK conducted 1,991 combat missions over Iraq. Broken down by month these are:  Typhoon FGR4Tornado GR4Reaper MQ92015   October04561November05262December4772562016   January487274February497354March555355April484656May515266June504671July514466August394661September334463October413851Total512683796During 1 October 2015 - 25 October 2016 the UK has conducted a total of 784 airstrikes within Iraqi territory. These are detailed as follows: 2015 October18November57December862016 January97February60March67April70May69June77July44August42September51October46Total784  These strike numbers are constantly reviewed and updated by the Coalition to ensure records are as complete and as accurate as possible. As such, past and future statements regarding statistics may differ to those given here.

Ministry of Defence: Social Networking

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian personnel in his Department have been subject to disciplinary action for non-compliance with his Department's policies on use of social media in each month since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Social Networking

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) officers and (b) soldiers from the (i) Army, (ii) Royal Air Force and (iii) Royal Navy have been subject to disciplinary action for non-compliance with his Department's policies on use of social media in each month since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: The requested information is provided in the attached tables.



49838 – MOD AF Personnel - Use of Social Media
(Word Document, 27.04 KB)

Ministry of Defence: Misconduct

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times his Department (a) terminated a contract and (b) imposed a penalty for grave professional misconduct in each year since 2011.

Harriett Baldwin: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Departmental Overview 2015-16, Ministry of Defence, published on 21 October 2016, page 17, what steps he is taking to address dissatisfaction among service personnel with the standard of service family accommodation.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence has put in place a strategy to provide an alternative contractor should CarillionAmey fail to sustain the performance improvements made during the beginning of the year. The Department continues to assess CarillionAmey's performance to determine whether the implementation of this strategy is necessary.The Department is committed to engaging with Service personnel and their families via Continuous Attitude Surveys, focus groups and bespoke surveys, as well as use of social media, to help inform and shape personnel policy. There are also regular meetings with the Families Federations.We liaise with the Families Federations, when developing requirements for new accommodation contracts and they are actively engaged in developing the Future Accommodation Model.

Syria: Military Intervention

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the deployment of an S-300 long-range air defence system to the Tartus area of Syria by the Russian government.

Mike Penning: We are aware of the Russian deployment of a new air defence system. This underlines the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year between the Russian Federation and the US, acting on behalf of the global Counter-Daesh Coalition. UK aircraft operating over Syria in support of the global Coalition comply fully with the operating procedures in the Memorandum that are designed to prevent flight safety incidents.

Trident Submarines: Iron and Steel

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2016 to Question 48618, how much UK steel content will be secured through the 85 per cent BAE System supply chain in the UK.

Harriett Baldwin: With the scale and complexity of the submarine programme, it is too early to be able to provide an estimate of the steel that could be supplied or manufactured by UK-based steel providers. BAE Systems, as the Prime Contractor, will manage the future steel procurements for the Dreadnought class submarines. We encourage British steel suppliers to take the opportunity to bid.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his Department's policy that people living in property where his Department is responsible for the supply should have the option to have water meters installed.

Mark Lancaster: There is no requirement to install water meters in properties where the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is responsible for the supply and there are no plans to change this policy.The MOD follows the Water Resale Order 2006 which protects customers in private water resale situations from being overcharged or otherwise disadvantaged. The MOD follows these guidelines in its charging policy. MOD policy ensures that individual household bills do not exceed the average Statutory Undertaker household bill for the region.

Army: Recruitment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to recruit more service personnel to the Army.

Mike Penning: We are committed to a whole Army of 112,000. This will consist of 82,000 Regular and 30,000 Reserve soldiers. We are implementing a range of measures designed to ensure the Army has the personnel required for Regulars, these measures include building on the 'With Heart With Mind' and 'A Better You' officer and soldier recruitment campaigns to improve the number of applications; a development course to assist those who fail to meet officer entry standards and a pre-conditioning course to improve soldier's preparation for training. Standard entry policies have been adjusted and we are doing much more to encourage internal transfers to help retain personnel within the Service, rather than lose them. For Reserves, the Army Reserve Development Programme is a major change programme delivering significant improvements in the Army Reserve. Some of the key measures to attract and grow the Army Reserve are; improvements in pension and paid leave entitlement and Financial Incentives for new joiners and ex-regular personnel joining the Army Reserve. We have improved the speed of progress through the enlistment process and offered more flexible initial training programmes to improve training success rates. We have also made improvements to personal clothing and equipment, Army Reserve Centre infrastructure and offer greater integration of training activity with the Regular Army through the Pairing system. In addition to these measures we will continue to look for other opportunities to ensure the Army is appropriately manned.

Home Office

Animal Experiments: Licensing

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applications for personal licences, project licences and establishment licences to carry out scientific research on animals have been (a) approved and (b) rejected in each year since 2010.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Home Office does not keep records of licence applications that have been rejected or withdrawn at either the concept or the drafting stage.The numbers of personal, project and establishment licences granted by the Home Office for scientific research on animals are made public every year in the Annual Report of the licensing body, the Animals In Science Regulation Unit. The Annual Reports can be obtained online at:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/research-and-testing-using-animals#publicationsThe table below sets out the figures for each year since 2010. Figures for 2015 will be published in due course.YearEstablishmentProjectPersonal201045152664201125642550201236262639201336042770201464742949

Police: Ferries

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the French government on the deployment of armed police on ferries operating across the English Channel.

Mr Ben Wallace: Earlier this year officials met, and have since been working closely with, French counterparts to discuss the current trial deployments of French sea marshals.Arrangements for maritime security, including on cross -channel ferries, are kept under constant review.

Visas

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what circumstances documents associated with (a) asylum applications and (b) other forms of visa application are retained by her Department after verification.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Documents associated with an asylum claim will be retained when :-1. The claim is ongoing, if a claimant is subsequently granted leave their passports or identifying documents will be returned to them at that point.2. When a negative decision is made we will retain documents that may be required to facilitate removal, the power to do this comes from Section17 of the Asylum and Immigration (treatment of claimants Act, etc) 2004.3. Any documents verified as being non genuine will be retained for disposal by the National Document Fraud Unit.4. In EEA/EU asylum claims if removal, deportation or extradition is being pursued, any documents must be retained until a decision is taken. If removal is not being pursued, for example if the claimant is exercising their free movement rights, any documents should be returned.A document that has been submitted with a visa application will be retained for 10 years if the document has been verified as being false and has been relied upon in a refusal decision. If it has been verified as being genuine, copies will be kept for up to 2 years. A copy of the application form is retained electronically with the case record.

Slavery

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is the practice of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to analyse the supply chain statements of private companies in relation to modern slavery and human trafficking.

Sarah Newton: The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has a remit to encourage good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of modern slavery offences and in the identification of victims.This can include encouraging good practice among businesses. It is for the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to determine how to carry out this work.He made ‘private sector engagement to encourage supply chain transparency’ one of his five priorities in his Strategic Plan for 2015-2017 and reported on progress in his first annual report, which was published on 12 October.

Slavery

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the proportion of companies which have published details of the measures they are taking to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply chains.

Sarah Newton: The Government has not estimated what proportion of businesses have reported so far.We published guidance in October 2015 advising that businesses should report as soon as reasonably practicable after their financial year end, which in practice should mean within six months of an organisation’s financial year end.

Slavery

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to extend the time period for a Conclusive Grounds Decision in the National Referral Mechanism from 45 to 90 days.

Sarah Newton: All potential victims of modern slavery receive intensive and specialist support for a minimum of 45 days, plus a further 14 days if they are conclusively found to be a victim to assist with their return home, their reintegration into society or their transfer to mainstream support.This level of support means that the UK is exceeding its obligations under Article 12 of the European Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (ECAT). The Government is piloting changes to aspects of the National Referral Mechanism and we will consider whether changes to existing arrangements are needed once the pilot has been evaluated.

Community Relations

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of Dame Louise Casey's review; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: Dame Louise Casey’s independent review on boosting opportunity and integration in isolated and vulnerable communities will report to the Prime Minister and be published in due course.The Government’s response will be a decision for the Prime Minister.

Home Office: Families

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has allocated funds for the Troubled Families programme for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office has not allocated funding for the Troubled Families programme for 2016-17, 2017-18 or 2018-19.From 2016/17 onwards, HM Treasury has baselined funding of the Troubled Families programme so it is deducted before Departments receive their allocations to avoid the need for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to approach Departments individually to ask for contributions.Therefore, the Home Office no longer provides funding directly to DCLG for the Troubled Families programme.

Prostitution: Males

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to enable men cautioned for soliciting and importuning under section 32 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 before 1 May 2004 to have their crimes disregarded.

Sarah Newton: Soliciting remains an offence under section 51A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, regardless of the sexual orientation of the person who is committing the offence.There is a clear distinction drawn between offences which may be eligible for disregard under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and those which relate to behaviour which would still be an offence today.There are no plans to extend the set of offences covered by the existing disregard arrangements.

HM Treasury

Minimum Wage

Henry Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the national minimum wage on the incomes of low income households; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 marked an important step towards building an economy that works for everyone. At £7.20, it represented a 50p increase on the National Minimum Wage, and a pay rise for over a million low paid workers across the UK, many of whom will be in low income households. The estimated impacts of the National Living Wage are set out in the impact assessment and Annex B of the Office of Budget Responsibility’s July Economic and Fiscal Outlook (available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111141625/impacts/2016/3 and http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/July-2015-EFO-234224.pdf respectively).

Taxation: Malawi

Oliver Colvile: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's policy is on the inclusion of a broad definition of permanent establishment in the UK-Malawi tax treaty.

Oliver Colvile: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's policy is on the inclusion of anti-abuse clauses in the UK-Malawi tax treaty to prevent tax avoidance through treaty shopping.

Oliver Colvile: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made in renegotiating the UK-Malawi tax treaty since January 2016.

Oliver Colvile: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has for the revised UK-Malawi tax treaty to be signed.

Oliver Colvile: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Government's priorities are for the renegotiation of the UK-Malawi tax treaty.

Jane Ellison: As is usual in any negotiation, the text of a tax treaty remains confidential between the two governments during the negotiations. It is not therefore possible to comment on the contents of a treaty before it is signed. The majority of the UK’s double taxation treaties are based on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention. However, some developing countries prefer to follow the United Nations Model, whose provisions differ in some respects from the OECD Model, including in the “permanent establishment” article. Many of the UK’s treaties with developing countries contain at least some of these provisions. A treaty will be signed only when both governments are satisfied with its contents. It has long been the UK’s policy to include robust anti-abuse provisions in its tax treaties to ensure that they operate as intended and in particular that residents of third countries cannot indirectly benefit from their provisions. The text of the new treaty with Malawi was substantively agreed some time ago. However, in August 2016 Malawi raised some further points for consideration, which we will work together on. When that process is complete, and both countries are satisfied with contents of the new treaty, it will be signed and published. Parliament will scrutinise the revised agreement, as part of the affirmative Statutory Instruments procedures, before the treaty can enter into force.

Revenue and Customs: Disability

Lady Hermon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what measures his Department has put in place to prevent disability discrimination by HM Revenue and Customs in its recruitment procedures; and if he will make a statement.

Lady Hermon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the procedures put in place by HM Revenue and Customs to ensure there is no disability discrimination in its recruitment procedures; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been recognised as a Disability Confident Employer.HMRC has a long-standing and wide variety of measures in place to assist disabled job applicants and to prevent disability discrimination in its recruitment procedures. For example: discussing with disabled applicants their precise needs where they require assistance during the recruitment process; providing selection panels access to a specialist HR team with expert knowledge of the type of adjustments that can reasonably be made, whether it’s ensuring that the test and interview environment is particularly suitable for disabled candidates, providing selection material in alternate formats, offering signers for deaf candidates, allowing extra time for tests, accepting paper applications instead of the usual on-line applications process and so forth; and providing clear information to job applicants about the departmental vacancy filling complaints process. HMRC guarantees an interview to every disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria for the job. Further, HMRC has introduced unconscious bias training for all its staff including of course those taking part as selectors. It enables them to question personal beliefs and ensure objective evidence gathering in the recruitment process. In addition, all selectors must have completed diversity awareness training before undertaking recruitment work. More recently, HMRC is addressing the issue of ‘recruiter confidence’ when working with disabled colleagues by creating a bespoke disability awareness workshop that is being rolled out to all managers and recruiters.

Revenue and Customs: Liability

Margaret Hodge: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 7.2, Heading contingent liabilities, page 176 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16 of HM Revenue and Customs, published in December 2015, under what area of legislation are those cases of current liability.

Jane Ellison: The Trust Statement is prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards adapted or interpreted for public sector context. International Accounting Standard 37 – ‘Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets’ is the standard that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) follows when calculating the level of contingent liability to be included with the disclosure notes to the Trust Statement. The contingent liabilities relate to legal cases for which the outcome is uncertain and HMRC considers that there is only a possible rather than probable likelihood that they will be required to make a payment, or the amount cannot be reliably measured. These cases are not current liabilities – they are a possible obligation dependent on whether some uncertain future event occurs.

Wells Fargo

Phil Boswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when (a) Government Ministers or civil servants and (b) representatives of the Bank of England last met representatives of Wells Fargo.

Simon Kirby: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel The Bank of England is independent of Government, and so the Treasury is not in a position to comment on meetings held by its officials.

Financial Services: Misrepresentation

Phil Boswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the alleged misselling of financial products by high street banks.

Simon Kirby: The Chancellor has meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Annuities

Julian Knight: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to assist people who are locked into inappropriate and poorly-paying annuity contracts.

Simon Kirby: The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) thematic review of non-advised annuity sales practices looked at past sales practices, and found failings in a small number of firms, particularly in respect of the information they provide to customers about enhanced annuities (where customers may be entitled to an enhanced rate because of a health condition or lifestyle factor). The FCA have announced their next steps, including investigation by the FCA’s Enforcement Division to determine whether further action is necessary. These firms are now being asked by the FCA to review all non-advised sales from July 2008 and, where appropriate, provide redress.

Connaught Income Series 1 Fund

James Cartlidge: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 20232, what progress the Financial Conduct Authority has made in its investigation into issues relating to the Connaught fund.

Simon Kirby: This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government. This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Overseas Students

Wes Streeting: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the net contribution made by international students to the UK economy in each of the last five years.

Simon Kirby: International students make an important contribution, economic and otherwise, to the world-leading Higher Education system in the UK. The latest available figures show that in 2011, EU and non-EU students in Higher Education were estimated to have contributed £9.7 billion to the UK economy through tuition fees and living expenditure.

Concentrix

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral evidence given by Philip Cassidy to the Work and Pensions Committee on 13 October 2016, Question 30, what criteria HM Revenue and Customs applied in selecting the 1.5 million high-risk working tax credit claimant records provided to Concentrix in April 2016; for what reasons Concentrix decided not to investigate a proportion of those cases; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The process for selecting claims for Concentrix compliance interventions is set out in sections A9 and A10 of the “specifications of requirement” annex of the Concentrix contract. Reasons why Concentrix may not investigate a proportion of those can also be found in section A22.1 of the contract which can be found at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/85d1b730-5e4e-4be8-ae4c-3ac1f359afc7

Tobacco: Smuggling

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions there have been for tobacco smuggling in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not break down statistics for tobacco prosecutions to separate out those solely resulting from smuggling activity. Total prosecutions for tobacco offences for the last complete five years for which figures are available were as follows:  Financial YearConvictionsAcquittalsTotal Prosecutions (Convictions + Acquittals)2011/1215691652012/13159101692013/14261152762014/15237262632015/1626826294  The figures for previous years are not available, as they belong to the prosecuting authorities and are not on a comparable basis.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Erasmus+ Programme and INTERREG Programme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on (a) opportunity for students and (b) universities in general of not having access to the (i) Erasmus and (ii) Interreg programmes after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: We have been clear that we want to create an environment in which the UK as a whole can continue to be a world leader in research, science and the tertiary education sector more broadly. The government has already announced that UK researchers can still apply for Horizon 2020 funding projects while the UK is a member of the EU and the Treasury will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. The Treasury will also guarantee funding for European Territorial Cooperation projects signed before we leave the EU and which continue after we have left, where they provide strong value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities. Horizon 2020 funding supports collaboration between EU Member States or Associated countries.Leaving the EU means we will want to take our own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously targeted by EU funding. We will consult with stakeholders to review all EU funding schemes in the round, to ensure that any ongoing funding commitments best serve the UK‘s national interest, while ensuring appropriate investor certainty.The UK remains a member of the EU until our withdrawal is completed. There is no change to those currently participating in, or about to start, programmes such as Erasmus+ exchanges. Erasmus+ is open to a number of countries across Europe and beyond. We are not going to provide a running commentary on every twist and turn of the negotiations, but we will work hard to get the best deal for Britain, its universities, and the wider research sector.

UK Withdrawal from EU: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with (a) East Border Region, (b) Rural Community Networks and (c) other community groups in Northern Ireland as part of the preparations for the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government will ensure that all views can be reflected in our analysis of the options for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and we are going to listen and talk to as many organisations, companies and institutions as possible to do this. The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union visited Northern Ireland on 1 September and I visited on 5-7 October. We engaged with the Northern Ireland Executive and key representatives of businesses and civil society, including roundtables with the retail, hospitality and agrifood sectors and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action. I have also had discussions with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers for Justice, Communities and Infrastructure. Details of Ministerial meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

UK Withdrawal from EU

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to his oral contribution of 12 October 2016, Official Report, column 331, what his policy is on what should be included in the British option he described; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Jones: The UK’s economy is unique, and the relationship we secure with the EU has to reflect that.Supported by departments across government, DExEU is analysing the entire UK economy to understand the key factors for business and the labour force that will affect our negotiations with the EU. We have structured this analysis by looking in detail at over 50 sectors and cross-cutting regulatory issues. This will ensure that we can take full account of the opportunities and issues which arise for the economy from EU exit and get the best deal for the UK.

EU Law

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what legislation his Department plans to repeal using the Great Repeal Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Jones: The Government will bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on the day we leave the EU. This ‘Great Repeal Bill’ will end the authority of EU law and return power to the UK.The Bill will transpose current EU law into domestic law, while allowing for amendments to take account of the future negotiated UK-EU relationship. Without pre-judging this future relationship or future decisions Parliament may make, it will give consumers, workers and businesses as much certainty as possible by maintaining law wherever practicable and desirable.The Government will set out the content of the Bill and its implications in due course.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Public Expenditure

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much funding his Department has been allocated for each fiscal year of the current Spending Review period.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade (DIT) has been formed after spending review 2015, out of the forerunner (non-ministerial) Departments UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Trade Policy Unit responsibilities previously held by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade also has responsibility for UK Export Finance (the Export Credits Guarantee Department), which has its own budget.The estimated annual budgeted operating costs of the department for the next four years are currently being established and will be submitted to parliament later this financial year.

World Trade Organisation

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether it is the Government's policy to meet the requirements for automatically joining the World Trade Organisation on leaving the EU.

Mark Garnier: The UK is a founding member of the WTO and will continue to have membership in its own right upon leaving the EU.

Department for International Trade: Staff

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether any civil servants that transferred to his Department from other Government departments or public bodies received severance pay or other similar payments.

Mark Garnier: There are no civil servants that will receive severance pay or any other payments as part of their transfer to the Department for International Trade.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Cattle: Hormone Treatments

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to relax rules on the use of animal growth hormones in beef farming once the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: There are no plans to relax rules on the use of hormones for the purposes of growth promotion, following the UK’s exit from the EU.

Meat Products: USA

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will enter negotiations with her US counterpart to have the ban on British haggis imports to that country lifted once the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: We are working with the US authorities to ensure the restrictions on British lamb are lifted as soon as possible. The US has a longstanding ban on the use of animal lungs as food, but the Scottish haggis industry is working on a US-specific recipe to allow the industry access to the US market at the earliest opportunity.

Packaging: Recycling

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings her Department has had with supermarkets to discuss ensuring their packaging for produce and goods is recyclable.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Department has regular meetings and conversations with retailer stakeholder groups and representatives from the packaging industry, including representatives of supermarkets. The Department also works through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on wide-ranging initiatives aimed at increasing recycling. Many of these initiatives, including the Courtauld Commitment, involve supermarkets.

Fishing Vessels: Repairs and Maintenance

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding is provided for the replacement and upgrade of fishing vessels.

George Eustice: The Government has no plans to provide funding for the replacement and upgrading of fishing vessels. However, under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund there is provision for funding to modernise vessel engines in support of energy efficiency and climate change mitigation.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on resolving Basic Payment Scheme claims which include common land.

George Eustice: All eligible farmers have received a payment on their 2015 BPS claim apart from exceptional cases, such as those that cannot be paid for legal reasons like probate. Making payments on large commons has proved challenging in the first year of BPS. This was down to multiple and often very large land parcels, many commoners claiming BPS and a complicated historical allocation of grazing rights.

Recycling

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much waste was recycled in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK in each year since 2010.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Waste data is reported by all local authorities in England and the UK through WasteDataFlow. The data in the following table is taken from WasteDataFlow. The table shows the percentage of all local authority collected waste which was sent for recycling from 2010/11 to 2014/15 for St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council and Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority. Data is not reported on the basis of St Helens North constituency. Percentage of all local authority waste recycled/composted (*)2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15St Helens MBC31.3%31.7%29.3%36.8%40.6%Merseyside WDA (MBC)36.5%36.9%36.2%39.7%41.9%UK40.2%42.5%42.1%43.2%43.7%(*) Includes reuse The data is published through the annual results for local authority collected waste and is available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env18-local-authority-collected-waste-annual-results-tables It should be noted that the official UK recycling measure which is used to report against the Waste Framework Directive is the narrower ‘waste from households’ recycling rate. This is reported on a calendar year basis. UK recycling rates for this measure are given in the table below. This information is not available for individual local authorities.  20102011201220132014UK Waste from household recycling rate40.4%42.9%43.9%44.1%44.9% The data is published in the UK Waste Statistics publication which is available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data.

Recycling: Landfill

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of waste sorted for recycling has ended up in landfill in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK in each year since 2010.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Waste data is reported by all local authorities in England and the UK for all local authority collected waste. Rejects are recorded at three points in the waste movement chain, i.e. waste that is rejected at kerbside collection, at the materials recovery facility and at the gate of re-processors. Information on the amount of recycling rejects as a proportion of all local authority waste collected and sent for recycling is provided in Table A. For England for the three years 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14, approximately one third of the total recycling rejects or 1% of all local authority waste collected and sent for recycling were disposed to landfill. Information on the disposal of recycling rejects for England for other years and for individual local authorities is not readily available. Table A Recycling rejects as a proportion of total local authority waste collected and sent for recycling1 (%) YearEngland (%)St Helens MBC2Merseyside MBC2014/153-12013/143-22012/132-22011/122-22010/112431: includes preparation for re-use and composting.2: no rejects were reported for 2011/12 to 2014/15. . The data is published through the annual results for local authority collected waste and can be viewed at: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env18-local-authority-collected-waste-annual-results-tables with additional information on rejects published through several freedom of information requests available at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/defra-foi-eir-releases.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to improve the level of information provided to farmers on how claim payments under the Basic Payment Scheme are broken down.

George Eustice: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has provided detailed guidance on how BPS 2015 payments are calculated and this is published on the GOV.UK website. For BPS 2016, the RPA will provide updated guidance on GOV.UK which will explain how payments are calculated including BPS entitlement values and payment rates, reductions and penalties and the Financial discipline mechanism.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consider providing bridging payments to Rural Payment Agency claimants awaiting payment after 31 March 2017.

George Eustice: The RPA’s focus remains on paying 90% of farmers their payment by the end of December. The RPA will aim to pay those still to receive a payment as quickly as possible beyond that.

Badgers: Disease Control

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have taken the training course on humane shooting of badgers; and how many such people have failed the course.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 25 October, PQ UIN 48569.

Food: Waste

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress signatories to Courtauld 2025 are making towards reducing food and drink waste by 20 per cent by 2025.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) reports a strong start to Courtauld 2025 since its launch in March this year, with action being taken by a range of signatories to collaborate to reduce food waste from farm to fork. Courtauld 2025 now includes food & drink businesses representing 95% of the 2016 UK food retail market, as well as many leading brands, manufacturers and hospitality and food service companies. WRAP has established industry-led working groups to address key issues, including reducing waste from fresh produce, meat protein, dairy, hospitality and food services and increasing levels of surplus food redistribution. WRAP is also initiating signatory-led innovation projects to develop best practice within food and drink supply chains. Every year Courtauld 2025 signatories will be expected to submit data to WRAP on their food waste arisings, and a number of other indicators relating to specific activities and behaviours that will be important to ensure delivery against the target is achieved. WRAP will publish a short report on this every year. The first report will be published in the summer of 2017, covering the 2015 baseline and 2016 performance.

Department of Health

Blood: Contamination

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the reformed discretionary support scheme for people affected by contaminated blood will consider (a) housing benefit or (b) jobseeker's allowance in calculating eligibility for financial support for (i) widows and widowers of people affected and (ii) other beneficiaries.

Nicola Blackwood: In 2017/18, as part of the wider reform of the Infected Blood Payments Scheme in England, a new discretionary scheme will replace the current three discretionary schemes. The new discretionary scheme is in design and the relationship between receipt of welfare support and eligibility for discretionary support from the new scheme has yet to be decided.

NHS: Private Sector

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of its progress in implementing the commitment in the 2015 Spending Review to encourage long-term partnerships between the NHS and the private sector; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: We will continue to encourage long term partnerships between the National Health Service and the private sector in order to deliver responsive and innovative healthcare services while ensuring better value for taxpayers. It is right that these decisions are made locally by the NHS and not politicians. We are clear that patients should be able to access the best possible providers based on quality not the sector. Commissioners can use a range of tools to secure services, including managing providers’ performance, extending and varying contracts, widening choice of qualified provider, and tendering. They will need to choose the right tools for different circumstances. Local conditions vary and there is no one-size-fits-all model for raising standards.

Down's Syndrome: Screening

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 44, on Down's syndrome, don't screen us out campaign, tabled on 19 May 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UKNSC) has recommended that Non Invasive Prenatal Testing for Down’s, Patau’s and Edwards’ syndromes should be introduced as an additional test into the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme as part of an evaluation. Ministers are currently considering this recommendation from the UK NSC.

Ambulance Services: East of England

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the size of increase in demand of the ambulance service in the East of England in the last 12 months; and whether his Department plans to take steps to meet that demand.

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the attrition rate in frontline staff in the East of England Ambulance Service between August 2015 and October 2016.

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Improvement (NHSI) is responsible for overseeing National Health Service trusts. NHSI advises that East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s (EEAST’s) performance has seen a sustained improvement since March 2016. However, the Trust is still not meeting the national standards for category A (immediately life-threatening) calls. In August 2016, it responded to 68.9% of Red 1 calls and 62.3% of Red 2 calls within eight minutes, against a standard of 75%. For all category A calls, it responded to 90.8% within 19 minutes, against a standard of 95%.NHSI advises that overall demand on the Trust’s services has increased by 4.6% over the last 12 months, although the higher acuity ‘Red’ demand has increased by approximately 15%. This substantial increase in high acuity demand represents thousands more calls needing a response against the eight-minute standard. In 2016/17, to the end of August 2016, the Trust had responded to 3,699 more high acuity patients (Red 1 and Red 2 calls) in eight minutes than in the same period in 2015/16.NHSI advises that staff turnover at EEAST has been steadily reducing over the last eight months. Turnover of EEAST frontline staff for the period 1 August 2015 to 30 September 2016 was 7.12%. The Trust’s reference period for reporting staff turnover is 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015, and within this period turnover was 8.31%. Based on the most recent national benchmarking data for June 2016, turnover for all staff at EEAST was 9.85%, fifth lowest of the 11 English ambulance trusts.

Emergency Calls

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average response time was to emergency red calls for ambulance services in (a) the East of England and (b) England in the last period for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publishes the number of Category A Red One and Red Two calls responded to within eight minutes and the number of ambulances arriving at the scene within 19 minutes for a Category A call. This data is published on a monthly basis at both an England national level and at individual ambulance trust level. Data up to August 2016, Ambulance System Indicators Time Series to August 2016, is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

Emergency Calls

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to improve the service quality provided by call handlers who respond to NHS 111 and 999 calls; and what funding he plans to allocate to those services in the next five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The service quality provided by call handlers who respond to 999 and 111 calls is the responsibility of local providers of these services. Computer-aided dispatch and clinical decision support systems are used to guide call handers through 999 and 111 calls. These systems have embedded clinical governance processes which keep them under continual internal evidence based review. In the future, the 111 phone number will be the “front door” to a 24/7 integrated urgent care service. It will provide access to a ‘clinical hub’ which offers patients access to a wide range of clinicians supported by access to clinical records. National Health Service ambulance trusts (who operate 999 call handling services) and providers of NHS111 services are commissioned and funded locally by NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs work with these providers to take decisions on funding on a yearly basis.

Hospices: Children and Young People

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to provide support to children's hospices which extend their services for young adults.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to formalise the children's hospice grant for 2017-18.

David Mowat: The Department provided grant funding in 2013-16 to Together for Short Lives, the organisation supporting children’s hospices, to support the Transition Taskforce. The Taskforce provides guidance and training that supports good transitions locally between children’s and adult services for those with life-limiting conditions or needing palliative care. NHS England is continuing to prioritise funding for the children’s hospice grants programme at the current level. NHS England has been engaging with children’s hospices through Together for Short Lives prior to a consultation on the allocation method for the 2017-18 grant.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff working for the Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust are (a) non-UK EU citizens and (b) citizens of countries outside the EU.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital collects data on the number of staff working in National Health Service hospitals and community health services in England.The following table shows the number of non-United Kingdom European Union citizens and citizens of countries outside the EU working at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust as at 31 July 2016. Full-time equivalentBarking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust5,531of which:Non-UK EU citizens1514Citizens of countries outside the EU21,085 Source: NHS Digital Notes:1 Non-UK EU citizens include staff from the following countries; Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, as per the link below: https://www.gov.uk/eu-eea 2 Citizens of countries outside the EU include staff from any country outside the EU and UK. Staff with an unknown nationality are not included in this category.The nationality field available within the systems upon which these figures are based, contains self-reported information from individual employees. Nationally over 95,000 NHS staff records do not contain useful data with people choosing not to specify their nationality or not asked to. In addition, as nationality is self-reported the value entered by an individual may reflect their cultural heritage rather than their country of birth. As such, these figures should be treated with a significant degree of caution. Therefore these figures do not necessarily equate to migrants from other countries, and such data is not captured elsewhere in the workforce systems. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. Following a public consultation in 2015, categorisation of trusts and staff groups has changed therefore restricting comparability with previous publications. Because of these changes, these statistics are classed as experimental. More details regarding these changes can be found in the outcomes of the consultation document available at the link below: http://digital.nhs.uk/hchs

Carers

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the new Carers Strategy.

David Mowat: Following a wide ranging Call for Evidence over the summer, the Department expects to publish a summary of the findings in the coming months alongside plans for publication of the Carers Strategy.

Carers

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how he plans to fund the new Carers Strategy.

David Mowat: The Carers Strategy will be accompanied by an impact assessment which sets out the full costs and benefits to all relevant sectors, including the costs to the public sector.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of EU member states other than the UK worked in the NHS in each of the last 36 months for which figures are available (a) in total (b) as doctors, (c) as nurses and (d) as midwives; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of EU member states other than the UK  (a) started working and (b) left employment in the NHS in England in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes data on the nationality of staff working in the National Health Service in England. This is a self-reported field within the NHS human resources and payroll system, the electronic staff record. The following table shows the number of nationals of European Union member states other than the United Kingdom working in the NHS in the last 36 months. This data is published twice a year and the next set will be published in December 2016 showing the position at September 2016. NHS Digital also publishes turnover data. The latest data published in September shows that the number of nationals of EU member states other than the UK who started working between June 2015 and June 2016 was 15,474 and the number who left employment in the NHS in England was 8,056. The next publication in December 2016 will cover the period from September 2015 to September 2016.



PQ49839 EU nationality excluding UK table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 18.68 KB)

Ambulance Services: Emergency Calls

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average response time was to emergency red calls for ambulance services in (a) the East Midlands and (b) England in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publishes the number of Category A Red One and Red Two calls responded to within eight minutes and the number of ambulances arriving at the scene within 19 minutes for a Category A call. This data is published on a monthly basis at both an England national level and at individual ambulance trust level. Data up to August 2016, Ambulance System Indicators Time Series to August 2016, is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

Surgery

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many operations in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK had to be cancelled due to a lack of hospital beds available in each year since 2010.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services: Per Capita Costs

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the funding per head was for those with mental health issues in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: The information is not available in the format requested. NHS England does not hold information by constituency; it allocates local funding to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCG spend on mental health for St Helens CCG, Merseyside CCG and nationally for all CCGs in England for 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 is in the following table:   2013/14 Outturn £ 0002014/15 Outturn £ 0002015/16 Outturn £ 000St Helens CCG Total21,54329,74531,094Merseyside CCGs Total181,521209,004232,244England CCGs Total7,818,9248,289,1539,148,314  NHS England does not hold information relating to years prior to 2013/14.

Mental Illness

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were recorded with mental health issues in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: This information is not held in the format requested.

Members: Correspondence

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West of 8 September 2016 on the brain tumour task and finish group, reference ZA5004.

David Mowat: I responded to the hon. Member on 24 October.

NHS: Sustainable Development

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to require equality impact assessments to be submitted alongside all sustainability and transformation plans.

David Mowat: All public sector organisations and authorities are required to give due regard to the equalities implications of any policy or financial decision. It is current practice for Equality impact assessments to be completed for all service reconfigurations by the relevant organisations, and we would expect this practice to continue. Sustainability and Transformation Plans are a collaborative vision for a local area, any ensuing service changes will need to take full account of impacts on equality.

Nurses: Training

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many student nurses in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) England received NHS bursaries in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The following table shows the total number of student nurses in receipt of a National Health Service bursary in Greater Manchester and in England from 2012 to 2015.  Academic Year2012201320142015Number of student nurses in Greater Manchester3,3432,9753,2843,577Number of student nurses in England40,95138,49040,96143,470Source: NHS Business Services Authority The NHS bursary application window for the 2016 academic year is still open and therefore figures are not yet available. The figures are based on the postcode of the student at the time of their application. These also include students who are in receipt of a monthly bursary and those who receive tuition fees only and no annual payment for day to day living costs (either because they have chosen not to declare income or because of income assessment).

Fractures: Medical Treatments

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications for funding for treatment by the Exogen Ultrasound Bone Healing System have been approved for NHS patients in (a) South Tees NHS Trust, (b) the North East and (c) England since May 2015.

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the level of regional disparity in successful funding applications for Exogen Ultrasound Bone Healing System treatment for NHS patients.

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that Exogen Ultrasound Bone Healing System treatment is funded by the NHS for repairs and fusions of joints rather than just for larger bones.

Nicola Blackwood: Responsibility for commissioning and funding treatment using the Exogen Ultrasound Bone Healing System lies with local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Information on funding applications for this treatment is not collected centrally and no assessment has been made of any regional disparity in successful funding applications. CCGs are expected to take account of guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the health needs and priorities of their local populations, when determining the range and level of services they provide.

Sleeping Rough: Death

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many rough sleepers died in (a) Liverpool, Wavertree constituency, (b) Liverpool, (c) the Liverpool City Region and (d) each region in each year since 2010; and what the cause of death was in each area.

Nicola Blackwood: This information is not collected centrally.

Drugs: Misuse

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were admitted to hospital as a result of the adverse effects of the psychoactive substance spice in (a) Liverpool, Wavertree constituency, (b) Liverpool, (c) the Liverpool City Region and (d) each region in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: Data is collected centrally on hospital admissions for drug poisoning. However, there is no separate classification for this type of drug, so it is not possible to separate out admissions resulting from the adverse effects of ‘Spice’ from those due to other types of drugs.

Suicide

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to public sector workers who have witnessed someone die by suicide at work.

Nicola Blackwood: The cross-Government suicide prevention strategy highlighted specific groups that are at high risk of suicide including those in contact with mental health services and the criminal justice system and other groups for which tailored approaches to address their mental health are required to reduce their risk of suicide such as children and young people and people who may be vulnerable due to their social and economic circumstances. We also know that there is a link between suicide and the transport network, especially the rail network. We work with a range of public sector organisations to promote suicide awareness and training. Public sector organisations that provide services to people at risk of suicide should work with their staff to raise awareness of suicide prevention and provide appropriate training and support. The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health recommended that all local areas should implement multi-agency suicide prevention plans by 2017. Public Health England published refreshed guidance on 25 October, ‘Local suicide prevention planning: a practice resource’, to support local areas to implement these plans which will bring together all local agencies to work collaboratively to prevent suicide: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/562280/PHE_local_suicide_prevention_planning_a_practice_resource.pdf The guidance provides advice on providing suicide awareness training to professionals who may come into contact with people at risk of suicide.

Miscarriage

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many miscarriages the NHS has registered in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The National Health Service is not required to register miscarriages. Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) provide information on the number of miscarriages. The table shows the number of miscarriages from 2010-11 to 2014-15 where there was a hospital admission. Not all miscarriages will require an admission to hospital. Activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sectorYearNumber of miscarriages2010-1143,0052011-1242,5382012-1339,8002013-1438,8692014-1538,377 Source: HES, NHS Digital

Orthopaedics

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to make available on the NHS knee injection treatment to replace knee surgery.

David Mowat: The best treatment for knee pain will vary depending on the individual and their underlying problem. Patients considering a knee operation should also be given information about alternative treatments such as physiotherapy. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published clinical guidance on the care and management of osteoarthritis, including knee surgery at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg177 Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning services to meet the requirements of their local population. It would be for them to decide whether this procedure should be made available, taking into account any available evidence of its clinical and cost effectiveness.

Strokes: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to make available on the NHS high-tech neuro-protective medication for stroke patients.

Nicola Blackwood: We understand that clinical research is ongoing into the effectiveness of neuroprotective agents in minimising the effects of conditions causing neurodegeneration such as traumatic brain injuries, strokes, and dementia. The Government and the National Health Service supports research into new technologies through the National Institute for Health Research and its clinical research networks.

NHS: Braille

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS services are available to people who read using braille.

David Mowat: From 31 July 2016 all providers of National Health Service care and publicly funded adult social care have been required to meet the Accessible Information Standard, published by NHS England.This requires all organisations to:- Ask people if they have any information or communication needs;- Record those needs clearly and in a set way;- Highlight or flag the person’s file or notes so it is clear that they have information or communication needs and how their needs should be met;- Share information about people’s information and communication needs with other providers of NHS and adult social care, when they have consent or permission to do so; and- Take steps to ensure that people’s needs are met, including receiving information which they can access and understand, and communication support if they need it. This includes providing information in Braille where identified.Further information can be found on NHS England’s website and accessed via the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/

Women and Equalities

Teachers: Males

Karl McCartney: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of male teachers.

Caroline Dinenage: We value diversity but want the best people in the classroom, as evidence shows that quality of teaching is the single most important factor in determining how well pupils achieve.Recent figures show that from 2011/12 to 2015/16, the number of full-time equivalent male teachers increased from 115,000 to nearly 120,000. Last year, 26 per cent of teachers in state schools were male.

Equality

Patrick Grady: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of the UK leaving the EU for the Government's policies on equality.

Caroline Dinenage: The UK has some of the strongest equality legislation and policies in the world. This will continue to be the case after we leave the EU. The Government Equalities Office will continue to follow an ambitious programme of work to ensure that everyone has a fair chance and that no one is discriminated against because of their background.

Harassment: Internet

Alex Chalk: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the rise in online misogyny.

Caroline Dinenage: Abusive or threatening behaviour – whoever the target - is totally unacceptable. As set out in the Violence Against Women and Girls prevention strategy, my department, with the Home Office, has established a cross-government working group to develop proactive responses to online misogyny. We have also provided new funding for the Revenge Porn Helpline.

Females: Directors

Nigel Huddleston: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of women on boards and at senior executive levels of FTSE companies.

Caroline Dinenage: We have more women on boards than ever before and no all-male boards in the FTSE 100. We have established the new, independent Hampton-Alexander Review which will have a particular focus on improving gender representation in the all-important executive layer of the FTSE companies.I fully endorse the business-led target of 33% women on FTSE 350 boards by 2020 and would like to go further.

Bullying: Schools

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to (a) tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools and (b) establish inclusive schools.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government wants to ensure that all schools are safe, inclusive environments where pupils are able to learn and fulfil their potential.We know that pupils who are, or perceived to be, LGBT are disproportionately affected by bullying. This bullying can have a devastating effect on them, their education and their mental health.This is why we recently announced a three year, £2.8 million, programme to prevent and address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.